What Does 1 Kings 6:24 Mean?
And five forearms was the one wing of the cherub, and five forearms the other wing of the cherub; from the edge of the one wing to the edge of the other were ten forearms.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.THE KEY
The Hebrew word for “wing” also names a garment’s edge, so the verse measures the cherub’s covering by its full outward reach.
THE MEANING
Here, covering has a measurable reach: five cubits in each wing, ten from outer edge to outer edge. The verse gives that span a clear boundary, making the full extension of the shelter visible.
THE ROOT
כָּנָף
kānāf
GROWS FROM
כנף
kanaf
Edge or extremity; by extension, a wing or a garment’s corner.
Kānāf names more than a bird’s wing: it can also name a garment’s edge and the farthest reach of something. Here, the measurement runs from the ends of the wings, making the covering’s full span visible.
ALSO GROWS
kānāf: Wing.
כָּנָף
This is the word for the cherub’s wings whose reach the verse measures.
kānāf: Corner or edge of a garment.
כָּנָף
In Ruth 3:9, the same word is rendered “skirt” for the garment edge spread over another.
kānāf: Farthest edge or extremity.
כָּנָף
Isaiah 24:16 uses the word for the uttermost part of the earth, echoing this verse’s attention to the wings’ outer reach.
THE PATTERN
Scripture pictures covering as an outstretched span sheltering what lies beneath it.
And the cherubim spread their wings upward, shading the covering with their wings, each face turned toward its brother; toward the covering the faces of the cherubim look.He covers you with his feathers, and beneath his wings you take shelter; his steadiness is your shield and your encircling buckler.O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!THE THREAD
And he said, Who are you? And she answered, I am Ruth, your handmaid. So spread your wing over your handmaid, for you are a redeemer.The Hebrew word translated “skirt” here is kānāf, the same word used for the cherub’s wing. One word holds both images: a wing’s covering and a garment’s edge spread over another.
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